Mistake by police turns speeding ticket into DUI for Wichita man

FactFinder 12

On his way to work on I-235 last month, Mike Henning admits he was speeding. He received a ticket printed by the Wichita Police Department’s new E-Citation system which allows officers to write tickets electronically.

Henning went on-line to pay the fine, but the ticket wasn’t there. He says after calling municipal court he learned that he received more than a speeding ticket.

“The lady says you have to go to court for this. She says this is a DUI. That's when my heart dropped,” says Henning.

He couldn't convince the city otherwise.

“She said it's right here…it's a DUI. I was freaking out.”

It took several calls and even a trip to city hall, but Henning eventually got his answer.

It was a mistake. The DUI on his ticket actually belonged to someone else.

“I'm glad to hear it...that is a good thing.”

Wichita police looked into it as soon as we called and say Henning’s case is an isolated incident.

The E-Citation program is still in testing phase with 16 officers using the new equipment. Police say a software upgrade was installed and when the officer didn’t clear his machine, it allowed information from a previous stop to be transferred to Henning’s ticket.

Police say it won’t happen again.

“We decided to remove the option so as to not have any future issues like the one Mr. Henning experienced," says Captain Darrell Atteberry.